Method of treating sheet iron or steel.



H. H. GOODSELL.

PATENTED NOV. l, 1904.

METHUD 0F TR-EATING SHEET IRUN 0R STEEL.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 7., 1903.

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N VEN TOR jrfyffo/fzer Gaosefl A TTOHNE YS No. 774,069. PATENTBD Nov. 1,190,4.

H. H. GOODSBLL.

METOD OF TRBATING SHEET IRON 0R STEEL.

APPLIOATION FILED Nov. 7, 1903.

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ESSES.' /NVENTOH ma Jfzzyyjfamez" aadsell Arm/7,75 Ys UNTTED STATESPatented November 1, 1904.

PATENT OEETCE.

NlETl-lOD OF TREATING`SHEET IRON OR STEEL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 774,069, dated November1, 1904. Application filed November 7, 1903. Serial No. 180,190. (Nospecimens.)

To all 2071/0711/ Y1'25 Wray concern,.-

Be it known that I, HARRY I-IOMER GOOD- SELL, a citizen of the UnitedStates, and a resident of Leechburg, in the county of Armstrong andState of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and Improved Method ofTreating Sheet Iron or Steel, of which the following is a full, clear,and exact description.

My invention relates to a process for treating sheet iron or steel, andmore particularly for causing a uniform and thorough oxidation upon theexterior of the sheet, so that the oxid will adhere firmly to the sheet,being practically a part thereof, and presenting an elegant appearance,besides being very durable.

I find that by my process sheet iron or steel can not only be thoroughlyannealed, so as to be suitable for the trade, but that the sheets ofmetal when thus treated can also be bent and otherwise manipulated to aconsiderable extent without disturbing the oxidized surfaces.

It is unnecessary to enumerate in detail all of the advantages to begained by thorough annealing and good oxidizing of the iron or steel norto enumerate the difculties encountered in achieving' this result, thesethings being well-known in the art.

I will first briefly describe my preferred apparatus for carrying out myprocess and will then describe the process itself. I, however, reservethe right to apply for a patent upon the apparatus independently of themethod hereinafter described and claimed.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part ofthis specification, in which similar characters of reference indicatecorresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure 1 is a vertical longitudinal section through myannealing-furnace. Fig. 2 is a vertical cross-section upon the line 2 2of Fig. 1 looking in the direction of the arrow, and Fig. 3 is a reversefragmentary elevation of a part of the gearing.

The brickwork is shown at 1 and is provided with large flues 2 3 t,concentric with each other, as shown, and provided at the top witharches 5 6 7. rlhe furnace is provided with two chimneys 8 9, whichcarry offI the gases of combustion from the flues 2 3.' The flue I isnot exposed to the gases of combustion, but is heated by the iiues 2 3.The draft for supporting the combustion may be supplied in any suitablemanner-as, for instance, through ventilatorholes 10. The chimneys areprovided with closure-caps 11 12, mounted upon levers 13 111,controllable by rods 15 16, which may be manipulated by hand. A numberof revoluble shafts 17 are each mounted upon bearings 18 and providedwith stuffing-boxes 19, through which the shafts pass, as indicated inFig. 2. Bevelgears 20 21 connect the shafts 17 with the driving-shaft22, wherebya slow and uniform rotary motion may be communicated to theshafts 17 /Valls 23 2a support the weight of the revoluble parts, asindicated in Fig. 2.

I-beams 26 are used in the construction of the furnace, thereby givingthe same considerable strength.

The vat 27 is provided with a shield 28, which extends downwardly at anangle and into the water 28a. Feed-pipes29 30 are connected with the vat27 and are used for emptying and refilling the same. The vat 27 lisprovided at its rear end with a longitudinal slot 31, this slot beingpractically in alinement with several of the revoluble shafts 17.

A box 32 is fitted into the briclrwork so as to leave a slot 33 ofconsiderable width in alinement with a portion of the shafts 17, asindicated inFig. 1.

As the shaft 22 is straight and as some of' the rollers 17 u on theshaft areout of aline.- ment with the rollers 17", I employ endlesssprocket-chains 17C to transmit power to the rollers 17. (See Fig. 3.)

The purpose in having the iiues 2 3, which are used as thecombustion-chambers,disposed above and below the flue 4C, which is usedas the annealing and bluing chamber, is to heat the latter-mentionedchamber without introducing the gases of combustion into the same. Theannealing and loluing chamber I is heated to a high temperature at apoint near the entrance of the furnacethat is, to the right of Fig.1-and then toward the back of the furnace. (Represented at the left ofFig. l.) The highest temperature of this chamber is about 900@Fahrenheit, this point being a comparatively short distance from the box32, the temperature gradually decreasing toward the rear of the furnace.At the extreme rear of the furnace the temperature is almost 212OFahrenheit, this being' ofcourse the temperature of the water 28, whichboils by virtue of its exposure to the lower combustion chamber 2.passes directly into the annealing and bluing chamber 4 and thence worksits way to the front end of the furnace, where it escapes through theaperture or slot 33, attaining just before making its escape theabove-mentioned temperature of 900O Fahrenheit.

The operation of my device is as follows: The shaft 22 is set in motion,thereby driving the several shafts 17 by means of the bevelgears 2O 21.The shafts 17 slowly revolve in a direction contra-clockwise, according'to the view shown in Fig'. 1, so that the plates to be operated uponpass through the slot 33 and gradually work their way toward the left.It will be noted that the row of shafts 17 bends slightly toward a pointat about the middle of the furnace. By this arrangement the platesgradually go up on an incline until they reach the center of theannealing-chamber and then gradually move downward until they reach thevat, whereupon they dip into the boiling water 28 and finally emerge bypassing through the slot 31. In passing' through this slot they continueto move slowly to the left, being thoroughly dried by the dry heat atthe rear of the vat 27. As each sheet of steel or iron passes throughthe slot 33 it may have a comparatively low temperature. Once inside ofthe annealingand bluing chamber t the temperature is raised by thesteam, which, as above explained, is of a higher temperature toward theentrance of the annealing and bluingchamber. The plate soon acquires thesame temperature as the hot steam, and as the plate moves toward theleft, where the temperature of the steam is lower, the plate of coursegradually cools. The cooling of the plate is therefore gradual andcontinues until the plate reaches the water, by which time itstemperature is but little, if any, more than 212O Fahrenheit. Of coursethe plates should not be rushed through at such a rate of speed as toprohibit this gradual cooling action. The boiling' water hascomparatively little oxidizing effect and serves to pickle or season theplates and also to cleanse them. I find that by thus subjecting' theplates to the action of exceedingly hot and dry steam and graduallyallowing them to cool under the conditions above described each plateacquires a beautiful blue coating' of oxid which is exceedinglytenacious and which has working properties not ordinarily found in anoxid of iron or steel. The plates are completely oxidized by the timethey leave the water. Passing' through the water, they are cooled, so asto end the oxidizing' process. After emerging Steam from the water l l ifrom the water at the back of the vat they are thoroughly dried by theheat. The use of the water, as described, is to cool the plates underproper conditions to prevent any atmospheric oxidation outside of thefurnace.

The process above described,it will be noted, is an annealing process aswell as an oxidizing process. My theory is that a sheet of metal comingrather abruptly into contact with steam at the high temperaturementioned is caused to expand and to open its pores, thereby allowingthe subtle steam, which is an oxidizing agent of a very high order andwhich has great penetrative power, to enter into the body of the sheet,causing oxidation to take place at a comparatively great depth withinthe substance of the metal. It will of course be observed that if theplate happens to be above 212O Fahrenheit at the time it reaches thewater it will certainly be at this temperature when it emerges from thevat and is subjected to a drying heat immediately in the rear of thevat. The oxidation is practically completed prior to the time when theplate emerges from the vat, so that the mere drying of the plate in therear of the vat does not materially chang'e the degree of oxidation. Infact, there is no increase in oxidation after the plate touches thewater, for the reason that hot water is a very poor oxidizing agent, andwuen the plate emerges from the hot water its temperature is too low tobe materially affected by the action of the air. The small quantity ofdry heat to which it is subjected after emerging from the bath removesall remaining moisture from the plate and prevents further slowoxidation after the removal of the plate from the furnace.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent- 1. The method herein described of treating sheet ironor steel, which consists in subjecting said sheet iron or steel to theaction of steam at a high temperature, gradually lowering thetemperature of said iron or steel while the same is in contact with saidsteam, submerging said iron or steel in boiling water, and finallydrying said iron or steel.

Q. The method herein described of treating sheet iron or steel, whichconsists in forming a volume of steam ranging' in temperature from about900C to about 212O Fahrenheit, subjecting said iron or steel to theportion of said steam which has such temperature of 90()O Fahrenheit,gradually bringing said iron or steel into contact with other portionsof said steam at lower temperatures, whereby the temperature of saidiron or steel is gradually reduced, submerging' said iron or steel inboiling water, and finally drying said iron or steel.

3. The method herein described of treating sheet iron or steel, whichconsists in forming a volume of steam ranging in temperature from about900O to about 212C Fahrenheit,

ITO

subjecting said iron or steel to the portion of said steam which hassuch temperature of 900C Fahrenheit, and gradually bringing said iron orsteel into contact with other portions of said steam at lowertemperatures, whereby the temperature of said iron or steel is graduallyreduced.

4C. The method herein described of treating sheet iron or steel, whichconsists in subjecting the same to the action of an oxidizing` agent ata comparatively high temperature, and gradually conveying said iron orsteel through successive portions of said oxidizing agent havingsuccessively lower and lower temperatures, until said metal becomes of atemperature so low that it is not attacked materially by contact withatmospheric air.

5. The method herein described of treating sheet iron or steel, whichconsists in subject- 1 ing the same to the action of an oxidizing agentat a comparatively high temperature, whereby the temperature of saidiron or steel is raised to that of said oxidizing agent, and

.gradually moving said iron or steel into contact with cooler portionsof said oxidizing agent, and thus gradually lowering the temperature ofsaid iron or steel while the same is in contact with said oxidizingagent until a temperature is reached at which comparatively littleoxidation can take place when said iron or steel is exposed to the air.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

HARRY HOMER GOODSELL.

Witnesses: Y

D. P. T RoUT, E. B. JOHNSON.

